Insider Selling: Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) EVP Sells 5,500 Shares of Stock

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE traded down $3.66 on Tuesday, reaching $100.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,791,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $106.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $94.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.06. The stock has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth approximately $1,417,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 59.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ameren by 51.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,134,000 after acquiring an additional 362,772 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 265.0% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,198,000 after acquiring an additional 126,157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Ameren Company Profile

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.